A Baker City man is facing additional charges of crimes related to child pornography.

David Leon Cernazanu, 48, has been held at the Baker County Jail since his April 24 arrest on 48 charges, including 11 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct.

On Monday, Cernazanu was served with a warrant at the Baker County Jail charging him with an additional 17 counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, a Class C felony.

Members of a grand jury whose term was extended for another six months to consider additional evidence issued an amended indictment that included the new charges on June 25.

The additional evidence was developed by investigators with the Oregon Department of Justice, District Attorney Greg Baxter said Tuesday.

Cernazanu is being held at the jail in lieu of $1.8 million bail. He is represented by Bob Moon, a Baker City attorney.

The 11 counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct are Class A felonies, which carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 70 months in prison upon conviction.

The initial 48 charges in the April indictment also include 15 counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, a Class B felony; 11 more counts of second-degree encouraging child sexual abuse; and 11 counts of first-degree invasion of personal privacy.

Baxter said Tuesday that the crimes are alleged to have taken place from 2016 to 2020 and involve five teenage girls who were known to Cernazanu.

Additional witnesses testified before the grand jury on June 25 and the new charges are based on videos “we believe Mr. Cernazanu took of various girls,” Baxter said.

The grand jury was called back to consider the additional audio and video evidence investigators pulled from Cernazanu’s computers and phones, Baxter said.

The Department of Justice sought local assistance in the investigation from the Oregon State Police in February after Cernazanu had been accused of internet crimes involving a child, OSP Sgt. Sean Belding stated after Cernazanu’s April arrest.

Google initially reported sexually explicit photos of the young person to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the allegations were investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Belding said.

Cernazanu had been employed as a corrections officer at the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City prior to the investigation. Baxter said Cernazanu had been placed on administrative leave during the investigation and no longer works at the prison.

Cernazanu also had served as a reserve officer for the Baker City Police Department for a short time.